In the conduit sealing arts, many devices or fittings are used for sealing conduits in bulkhead feedthroughs and the like. Conduits such as electrical cables and wires, hydraulic lines, optical fibers, etc. must be passed into various housings, enclosures or machines. Conduit feedthrough fittings are used to prevent both mechanical and environmental damage to a conduit and to provide sealing of the feedthrough. Exemplary of such devices or assemblies are grommets directed to the electrical conduit art for providing hermetic sealing (air and water) to avoid corrosion and physical damage to the conduit.
Conventional sealing conduit feedthrough assemblies historically are one use devices. Commonly, such assemblies are characterized by a tubular male threaded member with a radially projecting flange which is located on the blind side or inside of the feedthrough aperture. A tubular female threaded member, often incorporating a heat shrinkable sleeve forms the second element of the assembly. The female member is translated onto a conduit, the conduit is passed through the male member and therefore, the feedthrough aperture, the male and female members are screwed together. Heat energy is then applied to shrink the sleeve about the conduit. Often, a conduit such as an electrical cable, must be pulled from a feedthrough of a bulkhead such as a junction box for a myriad of reasons and problems, e.g., cracked insulation, fixing a shorted lead, replacing or up-sizing of the pair leads, etc. To remove the cable requires that the conventional sealed feedthrough assembly be cut for removal. Since feedthrough assemblies must be destroyed in the process of removing the conduit, necessarily they are one-time use items. Such conventional feedthrough sealing assemblies cannot be re-used for conduit reentry. The replacement and disposal of such items is not only costly but also produces needless solid waste which is detrimental to the environment.